Trust me, this will end up being funny and not depressing.
My mother has lost half of her retirement in this stock market meltdown. This isn't good, but she and dad are not destitute, it sounds bad but she asked for part of it. My dad, my brother and myself have begged her for 10 years to take at least half the money and put it in the bank, she fancies herself some sort of a financial wizard and would always begin preaching to us about how the interest the bank paid would not "grow her investment as quickly as inflation" it was always pointed out to her by us that she could lose it overnight in the market, which she has.
Saturday night when I came in from combining, my wife confronted me with a shocking revelation, that my mother had suggested we not exchange gifts at Christmas....my mother loves Christmas, she loves blowing money on gifts. She isn't that broke, yet anyway, which makes it all the more ridiculous. I ate supper, then couldn't stand it anymore, I had to call my brother with the news. Both my brother and his wife refused to believe me until I got Mrs. KF to confirm that my mother actually did suggest no gifts this Christmas.
Mrs. KF related to me as well that my mother seems not the least bit concerned with the financial welfare of Mrs KF and myself, she seems chiefly worried about my brother and herself and my father, according to Mrs. KF my mother believe we are set. This is very surprising to me since my brother makes more than Mrs. KF and I put together, and on top of that his wife works, and my father has deferred his wheat check until 2009 because of a fear of too much income tax, as well as the fact my mother's management position in healthcare makes more than Mrs. KF and I put together....yet, we are supposedly the wealthy members of this family.
Last night, we called my brother to talk to my 3 year old niece on Skype, using the webcam. Thinking she would not understand what I was talking about, I mentioned to my brother about Grandma cancelling Christmas, too which my niece immediately began crying, through the sobs I heard clearly, "I want Christmas!!!". Feeling sheepish, I assured her that no matter how poor the economy or her parents and grandparents might be, her rich uncle Brian and aunt Amy would make sure that she had Christmas. I also instructed her that the next time she talked to her grandmother to say, "Grandma, you have enough money for Christmas". She was busy repeating this when bang, our electricity went out, just like Owd Freds did.
I had thought I heard a car coming down our road when this happened, since we have alot of drug crime around us I was convinced they had cut our power with the intent of robbing us. I bolted from the computer in the dark to try to get to our bedroom to retrieve my 9mm pistol from my underwear drawer, running smack into the door frame, nearly knocking myself unconscious. Rubbing my throbbing skull, I realized my cell phone would give off enough light for Mrs.KF to put batteries in our flashlights, we lit candles, then I called my brother back(we learned the power went out over a very wide area, so my theory we were about to be the victims of a robbery or worse was unfounded). My brother in the meantime had called my parents, and Olivia as instructed had told her grandmother "you have enough money for Christmas grandma". Grandma predictably now wants a piece of my hide for making her granddaughter think she is the Grinch who stole Christmas. Is is any wonder my brother is my mothers favorite son???